Table 1 .—Releases (after slash) and returns (before slash) for white marlin tagged in the western North Atlantic Ocean by 



year and area of release. 



'AH releases after 1961 were off the Virgin Islands. 

 -Through 20 July. 



From May 1970 through May 1972, 2.039 white 

 marlin and 216 blue marlin were tagged in the west- 

 ern North Atlantic. From these and earlier re- 

 leases, 70 valid returns from white marlin, and one 

 from a blue marlin, were received between May 

 1970 and 15 July 1972. These brought the cumula- 

 tive totals to 8,630 releases and 135 valid returns for 

 white marlin and 702 releases and 4 valid returns for 

 blue marlin. In addition, correct recapture data for 

 one earlier white marlin return were obtained and 

 the probable origin of a plastic ring found on the bill 

 of a white marlin caught in July 1959 has been 

 traced. Damaged or incomplete tags or reports of 

 tags recovered but not returned from 2 white marlin 

 and 1 blue marlin were also received. 



The release and recapture data for the new white 

 marlin returns, and the corrected data for one of 

 those previously repoited, are shown in the Appen- 

 dix, along with the data for the blue marlin returns. 

 The total accumulated data are summarized in ta- 

 bles and charts as noted in the text. 



WHITE MARLIN 



Migrations 



The 70 new returns from white marlin added con- 

 siderably to the information obtained from the 65 

 tags returned in the 16 previous years (Mather et 

 al., 1972). The majority of the releases (1,687) again 

 occurred on the continental shelf between Cape 

 Hatteras and Cape Cod (Table 1). Other release 

 sites were off the northwestern Bahamas and 

 southeastern Florida (140), off Venezuela (114), in 

 the Gulf of Mexico (49), near the West Indies (the 

 Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico) (41), and off the 

 Yucatan Peninsula (9). 



All of the recaptures were again in the North At- 

 lantic west of long. 35°W, but their range was ex- 

 tended northward nearly to lat. 43°N, and south- 

 eastward to lat. 4°N, long. 40°W. Also, the first 

 three recaptures in the Gulf of Mexico of fish 

 tagged in the Cape Hatteras-Cape Cod area were 



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